B&W Owner's Thread - Page 93

Thank you guys for providing a lot of opinions and information about the 3 possible setups. I have one more question, is it true that the 7 series is going to be renewed of terminated ?. If you don´t mind, keep it coming.

i biwire my b&w 602 s3 and the upper mid and high frequency really benefit from it.

weeeell ok, but you know there has been no evidence of any kind, and has been disproven to really even help? Could be psychological, but i digress, my whole point in the original argument was that ripping out a crossover is by no means

are you using an integrated setup? or are you running separates?

i am running a rotel rsx-1056 for my pre-amp and running my dm 603 s3 with an external rotel rb991.

If I remember correct, the 700 series came out first, followed by the newer 800S/D series, CM series, and then the 600 series 4 last year. Since the 700s are the oldest, they'd probably get repalced first, but I doubt it will happen this year. I'm also thinking that B&W will be working on a way to manufacture the Diamond tweeter for less money, so it can be put on more products. I went with the 804S and HTM3S since it would of cost double to go with the 803S and HTM2D. Because of the price jump, I didn't even want to try out the diamonds.

well i mean if you think about it your really not doing anything much differently than having a jumper in between your binding posts. In fact some jumpers end up being better connections....

But we all think different, so enjoy your setup!

I don't know. The 703's do tend to be getting squeezed between the 683 and the 804S to some degree. But successful speakers tend to have relatively longer product lifetimes than other components, and the 700's have reportedly been big seller for B&W.

My current system in a Japanese 6 tatami mats room

Two N803 fronts
One HTM1 center
Two N805 backs
PS3
Recently I bought
Denon POA-A1HD/AVP-A1HD $10,600 for both including tax, transport, cables and setup

I got an offer to buy
two 802D for $12,300 including tax, transport and setup
HDM1D for $8,000 including tax, transport and setup
HDM2D for $3,800 including tax, transport and setup

I am considering upgrading to 802D and will put my N803 as backs.

Questions:
(1) What center would be best price/performance vise HTM2D or HTM1D?
(2) Is my amp strong enough for feeding 802D speakers?

Thank you

The HTM2D goes with the 803D, but the HTM1D goes with the 802D, 801D, and 800D. If you are going to upgrade to the 802D for the fronts, then get the HTM1D (if you can afford it). The N803 can work for the back surrounds, but remember that surround speakers sound best when placed above ear level (which you cannot do with the N803).

Are you using the POA-A1HD in 150w mode, or 300w bridged? You you have to run it at 300W for the 802D and the HTM1D/2D center, because 150W is not going to be enough power for those speakers.

update on my B&W's


683 fronts
685 rears
HTM61 center

That's a really clean setup Robot!

yeah, that's a nice set-up. I'm sure it sounds very nice!

Too long (think its been over 12/13 years if not more ) yet since I always lived in apartment wherever I moved and they faithfully followed and dutifully performed. Thanks for your Outlaw suggestion I was thinking of going with their Hsu equivalents due to more available customer reviews although from what I gather they seem to be very much alike (probably due to Hsu co-producing them for Outlaw). One thing that holds me from them is the "right" fit with my system/enviorment although for the overall quality and bang for buck ratio they seem to be the ticket. I think I gave up on B&W subs as that just isn't their field of play especially when considering other potential product for far less money.



From what I have personally "heard" and own experience bi-wiring didn't do nothing that I could discerne yet bi-amping surely does especially with dedicated amp's. Funny how most of B&W owners are familiar with this yet many other owners of other brands never even tried this on their set-ups.

Lovely clean set up just the way it should be. One question though, do you find the placing of your rears sufficiently angled and far away from your sitting area? I am faced with a similar seating position and would love to hear your opinion. Thanks

FAUguy

Note that I am an audio newbie and know very little about what makes sounds sound good. However, I compared 803D and 802D and found the latter to justify the extra yen it costs. The main issue is that it requires piano movers to relocate rocks like 802Ds, not to mention the HTM1D. My audio dealer in Tokyo bridged two channels into one as you suggested. I replaced my A1SE with the A1HD pair for my N803s and it resulted in a major improvement of sound quality.

Thank you for valuable info.... the dealer tells me that putting my N803 in my back will create a killer system. However, THX experts like you tell me to put speakers above ears.　In that case, should I go for two DS82 as sides and two N805 as backs or instead of DS82 go for SCMS?

Thank you

Since both the 803D and 802D are out of my price range, I have never tried them out, but have read a lot of reviews on all the 800 series products. They all tend to agree that the 802D is the best bang-for-the-buck (or yen) in the Diamond line. It cost more than the 803D, but less than the 800D, and the sound (mostly midrange and bass) is noticable better than the 803D (due to the better enclosure). Regarding the centers, The HTM1D would be the best souding match for the 802D, but you could use the HTM2D as it still uses the diamond tweeter.

I'm not sure If I would personaly would use N803 as rear speakers, if I'm also using diamonds in the front. The reason being that the N series has a compleatly different sound from the S and D series. Just trying the N and S, there is a notacable sound difference, with the S sounding more balanced, refined, and smoother highs. I currently have the DS6 as my sides and they do a good job. The DS8S is a similar bi-polar design. If you get the 802D and HTM1D/HTM2D for the fronts, then I'd suggest getting the DS8S as your side-surrounds and the SCMS as your read-surrounds. That way the sides would be bi-polar and the rears would be directions. The DS8S also has a switch to change their mode from bi-polar (difused) to mono-pole (directional) if you are listening to DVD-Audio/SACD.

One final note, what cables are you using (interconnects and speaker cables)? I have always found that MIT cables really make any B&W sound their best.

My 804S and HTM3S are due in later this week, and I am really looking forward to them. I plan to hold on to them for a few years and then maybe look at the Diamond line (or whatever the new 800 series is).

Hi I am thinking of upgrading my Energy Veratas 2.8's ,I have been looking at the B&W 800's rated @ 500w and was also considering A pair of Nortalis(once ordered it's A 6 to 9 month weight) but they are only rated @ 300w, I was talked out of them by my sales rep after he spoke with A B&W tech. So my Question is to the 800 series owners, how do you fined these speakers to perform in A dedicated theatre setup??....

I've had the following B&W 5.1 set up for quite a few years now and have been very pleased.
604 S2 Fronts
601 rears
CC6 center
AS6 Sub
I just got a new 7.1 receiver so I'm looking to add a pair to the setup.

It would be easy if I could just find a pair of 601's, because it would be a perfect match, but they are not easy to find, and the one's I do find cost more than what I paid for them new or close to what the current 600 series cost.
that has me leaning toward getting a pair of 686s to use as the side surrounds.
Anyway the reason I'm posting this is because I'm open to any ideas or suggestions.

Hi there,
I am including a couple of links to another forum, there is a guy who has had the Nautilus snails/flagship for over a year now.
He has posted photos and I must say they are truly beautiful in a house, also what is good is he includes his view comparing them to the 802d's that he has as surrounds.
If lucky could post asking more detail for his views.

The day they arrived (please note I cannot do actual URLS yet as this is 1st post so you will need to cut and paste and remove quotes):
"http://www.htguide.com/forum/showthread.php4?t=24794"

Update posts and thoughts on Nautilus flagship:
"http://www.htguide.com/forum/showthread.php4?t=25894"

In summary Aldo seems to feel that the midrange/bass and imaging is stunning on the nautilus snails, while it seems the 802D benefit more from the diamond tweeter.
One thing to consider is the number of powerful and rather expensive amps that will be needed to power these, Aldo explains that eventually he ended up with a serious rack of amps

Let us all know what you decide to do

Cheers
DT

in those pics the rears weren't angled like how i have them currently. Since then i've angled them in more, but not at 90 degrees. Maybe about 45 degrees or so. The surrounds are sufficient for me, especially more prominent during video gaming. For movies the rears could probably use more angle, but im quite happy with them.

Thankyou for the link Dulcet Tones, I will check it out.
I Know the B&W Nautilus come with digital crossovers and that B&W recommend running (4) Classe (brand) power amps to drive the speakers.
My sales Rep has the 802's/Classe power amps combo in house but does not have any 800's for me to listen to.
I listen to two channel 20% and movies 80% of the time so I want speakers that can handle A fair amount of power, this is why I am looking at the 800's....

If you listen to movies 80% of the time, then you might think about the B&W CT8LR. It doesn't have the diamond tweeter, but is designed from the ground up for heavy movie use.

Thank's for the suggestion FAUguy I will look into them....

Hi All,
I have an opportunity to buy a set of older CM Series speakers (CM 4, CM 2, ASW-CM, CM Center).
Has any experienced B&W owner auditioned these and what do you think of the sound quality. My ears are not "trained" since I have a basic HTIB and haven't heard any good speakers (read the few reviews on the web and they seem to have respectable sound). I'll be using them 60% for music and 40% for movies (spending more and more time on music nowadays). I'm thinking of using my existing entry level Yamaha receiver HTR-5935 to drive them for now due to budget constrain, will it be workable for the meantime?
From what I've found the retail price for these were $4300 and these were available brand new between 2002 and 2006. Taking into account most dealers discount 10%, that makes a typical new set of these to be $3870 brand new.
What's reasonable deal for me and for the seller? What's the typically closing price for a used set such these?
Thanks.

I auditioned the 802's today Driven with the full Classe setup Most impressive especialy in there imaging, I like the Rosenut(I think thats right)with it's deep gloss finish more so than the stock cherrywood finish. The brochure book with the DVD included is A nice touch I will have to check out the included DVD....

Finally got my B&W CM1's and CMC hooked up last night after having it sit in boxes for a year while waiting for my contractor to finish my wall unit and my bar. 15 months later I can have a drink and listen to some music. I would like to pay Warpdrive $600 to come to Atlanta and teach me how this Denon 3808ci and this multizone avr and this rotel amplifier works. I can't figure any of this out. Too many connections. A newbie is a genius compared to me. The speakers in my bar area come on louder than the speakers in the main room...and I can't figure out how to run the 5 main speakers through the rotel amp....I need a specialist in the Atlanta area!

It looks awesome and sounds good though!! I think Giant Robot and I have the same decorator.....my wife.

...Played Echo and the Bunnyman-Ocean Rain CD until 2 in the morning last night. Awesome. i will never come out of my basement again. Especially once the 60 inch Pioneer Kuro Plasma to hang on the wall unit, as well as the Olhausen pool table arrives Woooohooooo!

LTCJack, haha, Atlanta is very hot this time of year right?

For your Rotel, you have to connect it to the PreOut jacks (they are marked PREOUT with the terminals for FR, FL, C, SR, SL). Connect these to corresponding 5 RCA inputs of your Rotel called RIGHT FRONT, LEFT FRONT, INPUT CENTER, RIGHT, SURROUND, LEFT SURROUND). ANd then connect up the 5 speakers to the Rotel instead of your Denon.

As for the volume of your second zone,

First I assume you have the speakers connected to the SURROUND BACK/AMP ASSIGN terminals

I'm not sure you mean by the volume coming on louder in your other room. On your remote, after you select the Zone Select to Zone 2, you should be able to control the receiver independently of the normal main room settings, so you can control the volume independent for that zone.

I figured out the zone 2 settings...just had to slow down and read the manual for the denon. I get frustrated when The Brothers Karamazov is an easier read than an electronic equipment manual.

I thought I had the speakers connected properly to the rotel last night but I wasn't getting sound, so I ran them straight to the denon; I will retry...will the speakers sound markedly better by using the rotel amp? They sound pretty good just with the avr.

Also, am I supposed to be listening to my music in 2 channel mode or 5 channel mode?

Will they sound better? That's something you have to try and decide. It's probably not going to be a night and day difference, and maybe you won't hear a difference at all. Sometimes an amp can make a difference that's not noticeable on the first try, but you might notice the music just sounding less fatiguing over longer listening sessions, a more effortless sound and just a sense of more punch and dynamics

I use 2 channel stereo mode the most, but the Dolby PLIIx music modes are pretty good too. Again, this is a preferance.

Had the connections right, and still no sound. all I can figure out is maybe this Denon 3808CI requires some special setting to run the speakers through the external amplifier.

If anybody knows if there is some special setting in the Denon AVR, let me know!

I hope I hear a difference, otherwise I wasted a lot of money, and significant shelf space on a real heavy piece of equipment.